chickens in town

[Anonymous]

I live in a town my garden is 13m x 4.3m and i'm wanting to keep 3 silkie chickens i have cheked house deeds and cannot see any problems, I dont get on with one neighbour but cant see much of a problem. Any advise greatly received.

 

[Davidd]

Hello and welcome
As long as you don't have a cockerel then it shouldn't be any problem- just make sure they are locked up at night from Mr fox. Please ask any queries/questions you like and enjoy your new birds- 3 will soon grow into more- it's very addictive.
regards, David

 

[ncotb]

Did you get your chickens?

 

[Anonymous]

Havent got them yet, also covered my self with council there are no restrictions where i live, which is good, I was going with the, eglu, but I am rather taken with Flyte so Fancy, and am now just saving up for that.
Better to go bigger than start small and waste money. Going for my silkies and pekins, and 2 bluebelles.

 

[Davidd]

Hi, well done you- i don't know what the attraction is of eglu's- in my opinion a plastic box, tiny and very expensive- for people with too much money any not much experience of poultry :!:
much better with a decent sized, good quality wooden coop/house- the more room the better- as it's such an addictive interest :lol:
regards, David

 

[Anonymous]

only thought of the eglu for the cleaning, red mites, but all you have to do is put that little more effort into the wooden ones, am going for the HAVEN range, with a 9 ft run also going to hae the automatic door opener with timer because I start work at 4am, and dont wont horrible neighbours to moan, the other neighbour is fine, and I offered him some eggs to soften the blow.

 

[Davidd]

Hi, true, they wont get red mite- but think of the winter( like the one we just had) imagine your birds in a tiny eglu- not much room . At least in a bigger coop/run you can even keep them locked up if it's really atrocious weather - silkies with their feathered legs dont do well in the rain/mud so a decent sized house and/or a covered run is best. The Haven looks good
regards, David

 

[Anonymous]

Don't get too big a house for the number of chickens otherwise they will have trouble keeping warm in the coldest nights during winter. I've only got a few and thinking of buying some more just so they can huddle nice and tight during the winter nghts.

 

[pebojuno]

I agree with David- You are better off going for a bigger house than you think you need as, eventually you will get addicted and want more chickens! :lol: The flyte so fancy ones look really sturdy and well built so buy what you can afford and work from there! Less chickens per square foot will be colder in the winter but they will generally be healthier and have more space to do what they do best e.g. scratch and laze about!

 

[Anonymous]

I have to speak up for the Eglu. We have had wooden houses in the past and they involved so much more work and we had a real problem with mites. We also had a problem with rats. We now have an Eglu and the kids manage the cleaning etc. It is very easy. The run is small so we got an extension but it is rat proof (in our experience) and appears to be fox proof so far. The insulation means that it keeps warm in the winter and cool(ish) in the summer. The chickens seem very happy with it also. I do agree though, that if you want to get more chickens, the smaller eglu is not for you. The Flytes of Fancy coops do look lovely and it takes some getting used to having a lump of plastic in the garden, but for me the ease of cleaning wins hands down!